The UCSD Guardian University of California, San Diego/Volume 4(l, Numher 2/Thursday, April 1, 1982 Academic stress: there is help By LE LIE BOW "Stress is not bad".it pushes drink er, understand pro· learn to use time more df! mg. I t can be foru..,ed on living You've just turned out the us, it challenges us, it brings grammable calculators, wear a cientl .... , or learn sorial skIlls to Issue and how 10 copt.' with Iight at t he end of "one of those out the best in u . However, we polo shirt, study on unda, balance the "tud .. ," "a\'s Lane. them, and cI.' ervbod\''s faced days" and have entered the ca n become ovprloaded by put­ and party it up on Friday. You The counseltng "er\ Ices on \\Ith Ihat." All agree that the unavoidable nightly routine of ting unrealistic d mands on thtnk you shou ld be doing campus are located on the "'en ICes can onl\' facilitate a thinking before you I ep. ourselves and making assump­ \\ hat everyone else does or you ground floor of HL and ha\' person '. helping him elf. Classes are terrible, you're tions that increase stress are out of place. In living on satellite branches on each of Raphael says, "[ get the per"'on having trouble WIth your sui­ beyond a person's ability to campus with people your own t he four campuses. The cen­ to explore.,,[ am being a mIr­ temates, you haven't gotten cope. That's when you have age there is a definit pressure tral offIce has a three \\eek ror. [ reflect what the\' \ -e said any mail in week'. udd nly, burnout and are unable to keep to conform. waiting list for aplXlintmenl<.;, back to t hem and get' them to tear' are stinging your eyelids. thing. together," says Dr. Ron Giebink notes, "When [ go but at ea h indIvidual campus think about it." You turn and face the wall so Lane of the Muir College Psy­ into the dorms I fe I pres:-,u· YOU can lalk to a counselor your roommate won't see your chological ervice. The pres­ re ... everything's so jammed \vithlO a fe\\ days. Ob\l()u:-,ly Feeling sires. or depre ...... ion si llines. "Oh God I'm so sure to achieve keep u going, toget her - that' . got to cause <.;tudenh f el that theIr prob· IS not uniqu(·. what 1<; unique lonely," you think. But you but a one Muir freshman aid some stres .. " And if he feels It lems \\ Ith coping are serious I I he \\.1\ vou choose to han­ know there's nothing really in a re igned tone, "Some­ a a visitor, it's got to be real enough to discus.., with profe . dle It. Ali in all. failing your wrong with you - you're rea­ times it ju ,t eems everyone's for the impressIOnable student ionah., despite the stigma att­ blOl()g)' cla ... s is not going to sonably intelligent, not bad just out for the grade." When who has not vet had his indi­ ached to coun.e!tng. There scar WIU for life, neither i looking, and you and several you think that you can't ke p \,iduality stamped on him. "eem to be a dIfference of breakIng lip wilh Karen (or friends are going to TJ this up with everything, that pro­ [rene, a chemistry major, was optnion concern 109 counsellOg :ue or John or Jack . It i, up week nd . So what's the fe 'sor are unrea:onable, or studying in a near empty HL at t he separate offices. Giebink to you to recogni/e t he ~ource<; problem? that you're just plain ·tupid, it on a aturday night. Isn't approaches his ca..,e.., in the of t he pres. ur·... I hat cau ... t: "Life," says Dr. Phil is easy to imagine you ar there a stigma attached to light of serious p..,ychot herapy ..,trcss and explore areas that Raphael of the Third College alone. Yet everyone feels the studying when no one else is? He e:t i mates t hat some 40 per­ help yOU relieve It, whether It Psychological and Counseling pressure to ucceed. The dif­ "Everyone from my little sis­ cent of the "tudenh m am' be by setl ing nev,,' academIC ervices, "".Fears are univer­ ference lies in how people ter to my best friend has been gl\en cla's come tn for some prloril ies or "omet hing a ... "im· saL" If you think you're th choose to handle it. "The suc­ telling me I shou Id get out kind of counseltngwlthm their pIe as findtng an adequate only one who feel isolated , ces ful student will not allow more. I was made to feel guilt .... four year. at L'C D "When a ...houlder tel crv on . When vou confused or depres ed, you're the stress to get them down to about that...but It'S really you-r person comes here It I.., almo~t get down to it. 'there's onl\' ~me f1a.t tering your. elf with the point where they will leave choice." a statement thai I do ha\'e a person who can solve !tfe; Itt· untquen s . school. They will keep . lug­ Lane comments, "A per on problem': tIe problem~ , As Raphael says, UC D is a fairly large uni­ ging away." says Lane. who is subject to conformltv Lane at MUIr gIves t he opin­ "It'" Ven" eas\ to sa\ 'the versity into which you, the Common gripes include pressures may have grown up ion, "Counseltng doesn't have ans\\ er is within \'ourself ..' lowly undergraudate, are "There's nothing to do" and "I feeling like they need to win to be problem-oriented in the The fact IS the -ans\\ er i: dropped along with hundred can't meet people on this cam­ people' apprO\ al. They judge sense of psychological hang· \\ Ithtn your"clf The que .... tlon of ot her . The academic stand­ pu .. " In an in stitution with their self worth by other peo­ up. but it ran be problem solv- is, 'can y~)U get to the an wer')' ards here are high. Competi­ 10,000 students it i ea y to ple's reacton to them. At this tion i ' keen . Living on campus di . olve into them and become age it's common because many you find your elf surrounded ignored. Your life is in a lump student at this point may not by your peer , immersed in a becau e you're so busy you have a trong sen e of individ­ 24 hour a day social situation don't have time to do the uality yet to know what they with every minute a Ie on in thing' you like with the people want." Raphael ays, "If their gelling along with people. It you like - they're all bu y too. roommate are invol ved in var­ seems you have the right to "UCSD is uch an unfriendly ious kind of intimate relation­ feel depressed. It would be place, I can't meet people or ships and that per. on n ver abnormal not to feel 0 ial and make new friend ." Dissati - has (been ), often times that academic pres ure once in a faction grows and you blame it person will feel t he need to while. But what happens on the ·ystem. "That kind of either begin to engage in those when tho e "once in a whiles" feeling is almost univer ai, kind of behavior. or a need to occur more and more period." says Raphael. " ome imply that they do. (People will frequently? p pIe feel that it's very diffi ­ ask) 'You don't like to be It is important to r alize cult to make friends here: 'if I enf,aged in intimate relation­ where the problem is coming go S0 m where el e I can made ships? What's wrong \\'Ith from. l ually, you don 't have friends.' That may be true, it you?' And, given that, it does to look very far. may not be true. But [ think put a lot or pre sure on a per­ "Th major pressure is the the first thing a per on has to so n."to conform. Wh at \\e try pre:. ur that you put on your­ look at is,,. them elves. What to do i find a way of dealing self for academic perfor­ we would do is help that per­ with those kinds of conflicts mance." says John Giebink, so n find ways to overcome his that is comfortable." director of Psychological and shyness or this fear of meeting o when you feel that Counseling ervices at UC D. people and begin to utili ze classes are too much to handle Certainly everyone feel s that behaviors which could maxim­ and people are getting on your current of competitiveness ize meeting new people. Basi­ nerve. , what do you do about that run through the lecture cally what you're talking it? "I try to swim e\'ery day," hall right fore a mIdterm. about is taking rio ks. " says one Muir freshman. "[ You look . teathily around the Well, maybe you feel you do call home" or H[ confide in a room wondering, "Doe. he meet a lot of people. rn fact, you good friend, it helps just to know something about Varia­ think there are too many peo­ talk," say others.